Coal-cager



E. E. NIDA.

COAL CAGER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. 1920.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

E. E. NIDA.

COAL CAGER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. I920.

1,355,414. Patented 0ct. 12, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED 'sra'rss ELMER EDMOND NIDA, OF MILLFIELD, OHIO.

COAL-CAGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 6, 1920. Serial No. 394,025.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Emma E. NIDA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Millfield, in the county of Athens and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Coal-(lager, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to caging apparatus for use at the bottom of a mine shaft, one of the objects of the invention being to provide automatic means whereby, when a cage is brought toposition to receive a car, it will automatically operate mechanism for releasing one car of a trip while the remaining car or cars will be held until the cage has moved away whereupon the next car of the trip will be brought automatically to position to be delivered to the cage when the cage is again returned for a load.

Another object is to provide mechanism of this character which is simple, durable and eflicient and can be applied readily.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus, a portion of the shaft being shown.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail View of one of the horns.

Referring to the figures by charactersof reference 1 designates stringers on which are secured the rails 2 leading to the shaft 3 of the cage, there being a cross beam 4; to which the stringers 1 are secured and which constitutes a portion of one wall of the shaft. The rails 2 are not mounted directly on the stringers 1 but are fastened to cross ties 5 interposed between the stringers and the rails.

Secured to the ends of one of the ties 5 at points beyond the sides of the track are brackets 6 to each of which is pivotally connected a bell crank lever 7 one of which is curved upwardly to form a horn 8 while the other arm extends inwardly under the rails 2. The horn 8 may be pro tending arms 13 of an angular trip 14. The

angle portion of this trip is pivotally connected to brackets 15 by a cross pin or bolt 16 and a roller 17 is carried by the free end of the strip and is supported in the shaft 3 and in the path of the cage.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920. v

Secured to the sides of the rails 2 or to any other suitable structure are brackets 18 -to each of which is pivotally connected the angle portion of bell crank lever 19, one arm of each lever extending under the adacent rails 2 while the other arm is curved upwardly to form a horn 20. The inwardly extending arm of each bell crank lever is pivotally and slidably connected, as at 21, to one arm of a lever 22 fulcrumed between the rails. The other arms of the two levers 22 are connected by links 23 to the inner ends of the bell crank levers 7. Links 24 connect the rods 23 to a cross head 25 which, in turn, is connected by a spring 26 to a cross bar 27 attached to the rails. I

It will be apparent that the spring 26 serves to hold the horns 20 normally swung laterally away from the rails and also, by pulling through the rods 23 upon the bell crank levers 7, serves to hold the horns 8 normally pressed against the sides of the rails 2, and the free end of the trip 1& normally elevated as shown in Fig. 2. The horns 8 and 20 are so positioned relative to each other that when the front wheels of the first car of the trip are in engagement with the horns 8, the rear wheels of the first car of the trip will be in advance of the horns 20 while the front wheels of the second car of the trip will be in position just back of the horns 20. Thus it will be seen that when a trip of cars gravitates toward the shaft 3 the front wheels of the first car will come against the horns 8 so as to stop the movement of the trip of cars. When a cage descends in the shaft 3 and comes against the trip 14 said trip will be lowered and the arms 13 will pull through the rods 10 upon the bell crank levers 7 so as to swing the horns 8 laterally out of engagement with the wheels of the first car. At the same time the rods 23 will pull on the levers 22 and swing the horns 20 inwardly so as to engage the front wheels of the second' car' As soon as the front car is re leased "it will gravitate onto the cage and when the cage moves upwardly, thus releasing the trip 14', the spring 26 will automati callyswingthehorns 20 laterally out of engagement-with the car wheels and move the horns 8 back to the position shown in Fig. l so that the trip" of-cars will move forwardly and the first car of the trip will come against thehorns -8. Thus the cars Wlll be reset awaiting the return of the cage.

The rods 10-and 23-can be elongated or 7 shortened by-the use of turn buckles 28.

What is'claimed is:

1. Cag-ings apparatus including a V cage shaft,- a track leading thereto, bell crank levers arrangedun pairs and hav ng arms rails of the track and engaging the inwardly extending arms of the bell crank levers of one pair, rods connecting said levers to the inwardly extending arms of the bell crank levers of the other pair, a cross head connected to the rods, a spring engaging the cross head for exerting a constant pull thereon, atrip projecting into the shaft and adapted to be actuated by a cage, and rod connections between the trip and the bell crank levers of one pair.

2. In caging apparatusthe combination with 'a track, of a horn mounted to-swing laterally relative to the track, and a brace carried by" thehorn and movable to position onto a rail of the track to brace'the In testimony that-I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiiXed my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

ELMER EDMOND'NI-DA.

Witnesses:

EC. HOWARD, J osnrH EVANS; 

